Fire
Safety Visit
Saoirse’s dad, Kevin, is a fire fighter in our
community and we were lucky enough to have him visit our classroom. He gave the
children an informative presentation about fire safety and the kids loved it!
He put on his mask, helmet, jacket, boots and tank for the kids to see, and
talked through his mask so that the kids would know what a fire fighter sounds
like during a real fire. Kevin also informed the kids what to do if there is a
fire at home and how to keep themselves safe in an emergency.
The children had a wide variety of questions and
comments about fire fighters and fire safety. This activity promotes safety,
language development, listening skills, and awareness of community “helpers”
(fire fighters, police officers, etc.).
Ariana: “Oh my gosh! Where are you going?”
Colin: “Ooooooh! Where a fire truck?”
Kaden: “ If you have a fire in your house you say,
“Here! I’m over here!”
Collin: “Make sure my mommy and daddy are ok.”
Saoirse: “The stove is hot.”
Rorey: “I have a fire fighter suit at my home.”
Blake: “Lightening is hot!”
Abby: “If you are on fire, you stop, drop, and
roll.”
Ariana: “I had a fire drill at my home and I run
to the car and then back home and then to sleep and then to school.”
Hula
Hoops!!!
Our class has been exploring numerous ways of using hula
hoops! Many children have been using the hoops to build patterns similar to
hopscotch, then forming a line, and hopping through the hoops. This activity
gives a great opportunity for children to practice their leadership skills, as
well as problem solving conflicts within the group and strategic placement of
the hoops. The children express their ideas to each other and compromise to
produce something they all can enjoy.
While
some children are building with the hula hoops, others are using them in a more
traditional way (spinning them around their waist). This is a great form of
exercise and strengthening gross motor skills. To some, hula hooping is a
natural talent, where as others need a little more practice. Some kids took
this as an opportunity to take a leadership role and to show others how to hula
hoop. We’ve also practicing math skills by counting how many spins we can get
and sometimes writing them down. This is a fun activity for the class to
practice writing their names and numbers!
Learning Through Water!
Many
children enjoy adding water to the sandbox area. This allows children to use
their creativity to build castles, make “soup”, volcanoes, etc. Some skills
practiced during this time are expressive language, cooperative play with
classmates, problem solving, and measurement. It also is an ideal time for
children to build and expand on their social interactions and building
friendships.
Water is also a fun way to practice writing letters, numbers,
and shapes. Recently some of the class has been using water and brushes to
paint! Some children painted pictures on the floors and walls outside, while
others may be writing their names or other letter and numbers.
Water play outside is also a time when many show off their
pretend play skills by watering the plants, washing the bikes, or cleaning the
house.
Our little scientists are also extremely interested in
exploring water and the different forms it comes in! Some may explore water by
pouring it on the ground and watching where it runs. Sometimes it makes little
rivers, which is an ideal time to practice counting or talk about why the water
is running in a certain direction.

Clay Exploration
Collin: “Hard”
Ryan: “Cold”
Daisy: “Sticky”
Anya: “Soft”
Kaden: “Gray like
cement.”
I
followed with another question about the different ways we can use our fingers
and hands to work with clay. As each child began to explore, I saw some
children pinch small pieces of clay, grab and twist chunks of clay, flatten it
using the palms of their hands and use one or more fingers to poke holes in the
clay. The children in their excitement
shared their discoveries with each other at the table.
Collin: “I made a
sculpture.” (Pinching
small pieces of clay and balancing them on top of each other)
Linette: “What is a sculpture?”
Collin: “Like a
statue.”
After 15 minutes
of working with the dry clay, I introduced spray bottles filled with water and
asked the same question.
Linette: “What does the clay feel like when it’s wet?”
Mairead: “Slippery!”
Daisy: “Squishy”
Collin: “Soft”
Ariana: “It smells
funny.”
After
giving the children a few weeks to work with dry and wet clay, we decided to
start saving their clay sculptures. Through discussions about our discoveries
and sharing creative ideas at the table, the children have made imaginative
clay sculptures and stories to go along with it.
We are in the
process of painting them and can’t wait to put their creative clay figurines on
display.
Exploring
the Stained Glass Windows in the Church
This
month on our walk to the church we discovered the art of stained glass windows!
As we walked throughout the church we found all kinds of beautiful windows. As
the children observed the unique designs and patterns, we talked about the
different sizes, colors, and shapes. We also discussed what we thought some of
the designs resembled.
Once we
returned to class the children had an opportunity to make a pictured similar to
the stained glass they had just seen! The teachers provided the class with
colored construction paper, tissue paper, paint brushes, and watered down
vinegar. After the children chose the tissue paper for their design, they
painted them on with the vinegar solution to imprint the color on their paper.